Definition of Billiken
Look at a billiken and the dictionary description--a short, gnome-like Buddha with a Kewpie doll grin--fits perfectly. It is this combination of likable features that produces the mass appeal of this oddity.
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Origins
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Holding a billiken in your hand might make you feel nostalgic. The billiken is the creation of Florence Pretz, who patented her illustration in 1908. Ms. Pretz, a Missouri art teacher, called her creation a "design for an art image."
Theories/Speculation
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Reading poetry may have given Ms. Pretz the idea for the name of her jovial drawing. Canadian poet Carman Bliss included a character named "Billiken" in one of his songs around the same time the creature emerged into American society as the latest fad. Though no solid proof documents the name came from the poet, the rumor lingers.
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Significance
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Early 1900's America had a fad on its hands with the adoption of the billiken. Not only were good-luck key chains, hat pins, banks, auto hood ornaments and marshmallow candies made with the billiken likeness, but an American institution of higher learner grabbed it for its school mascot.
St. Louis University's Billiken
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Sitting in the bleachers at St. Louis University sports events is a sure way to see the happy antics of the school mascot billiken. The Missouri campus archives reveal that between 1910 and 1911 the student body welcomed the billiken as a symbol of school spirit and victory.
Potential
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Searching among antique stores is your best opportunity to find the collectible billiken. The Billiken Manufacturing company bought the rights to the Pretz character and was responsible for the mass production of the good luck charms and oddities that are again desirable.
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Resources
- Photo Credit University of St. Louis, Antique Trader, Marie Croft Antiques
